Through a questionnaire survey of 267 school districts, the actual practices of United States school districts identified as having outstanding staff development programs were compared with those of randomly-selected school districts. Discrepancies and similarities are discussed, along with support needs for instructional improvement. (SLD)

The Minnesota Business Partnership (MBP) was studied as a policy innovator in state school reform (for kindergarten through grade 12) in relation to agenda setting, alternative formulation, and authoritative enactment. Focus is on the MBP's policy-making involvement during the 1985 state legislative session. Overall, the MBP's influence was…

Initial findings of a longitudinal study of the efficacy of public preschool programs in South Carolina are presented. Two separate research designs were used to study 362 preschoolers in comparison with 1,662 non-preschoolers. School readiness was increased by participation in preschool when a minimum level of quality was maintained. (SLD)

True educational reform is the creation of a renewed identity at the school and classroom level when teachers and students interact in new, more productive ways. This article describes California's educational reform movement, presents evidence of successful change, and identifies where continued work needs to be done. (TE)

Shared Information Services is a state-operated network of four resource centers for gifted education in Indiana. The network provides support in the areas of program development, teacher education, classroom teaching resources, and program evaluation. A variety of library and technical assistance services is provided to teachers and others by…

Describes the Florida Automated System for Transferring Educational Records (FASTER) project, which permits the electronic exchange of student transcripts; uses of similar electronic data interchange (EDI) programs in other states; and the national SPEEDE/ExPRESS project, which uses a standard format for transferring electronic transcripts.…

How the performance appraisal system for school psychologists in North Carolina was developed and implemented is described. The evaluation system was developed with consideration for those to be evaluated and with respect for the needs of individuals as well as organizations. (SLD)

Cost factors associated with the development, administration, and scoring of performance assessment tasks are examined in the context of a statewide or other large-scale assessment program. Resources of money, time, and expertise are discussed. (SLD)

Reviews approaches taken by Oregon, Arizona, Illinois, Ohio, South Carolina, North Carolina, and California to incorporate community college systems into statewide economic development strategies. Approaches focus on small business assistance; anticipation of community needs; incentives for innovation; technology transfer; comprehensive…

Provides an annotated bibliography of ERIC materials on the role of community colleges in economic development, including general articles, services to businesses, state economic development activities, and local economic development. (DMM)

Describes the cash award system Indiana developed to reward schools for relative improvement in language arts proficiency, mathematics proficiency, overall achievement performance, and attendance. The article looks at problems with the program, how the program was implemented, how money was used, and positive and negative rhetoric. (SM)

This overview of OhioLINK, a library automation project that links 17 academic libraries and the state library in Ohio, describes the planning, governance, mandates, and structure of the network. Implementation of OhioLINK at Miami University is discussed, including selection of a library automation system, representation on OhioLINK committees,…

Discusses federal and state initiatives to enhance child care quality and child care teachers' compensation. These initiatives have resulted from the passage of the Child Care and Development Block Grant in 1990. (BB)

This theme issue includes 13 articles that discuss rural library concerns in Illinois. Topics addressed include strengthening library services; rural trends and their impact on libraries; partnerships; Cooperative Extension Service revitalization; financing; economic development; resource sharing in school libraries; and public libraries and user…

Implications of the Colorado Social Health Survey for indirect needs assessment in mental health planning and administration are discussed. The survey model parameters' generalizability to other areas of the nation should be investigated, as well as improved ways of linking specific populations to needs, preferences, and outcome dimensions. (SLD)